LANGLEY — Welcome to Arian Nation, once known as tranquil turf in the Walnut Grove neighbourhood of Langley.

For those who don’t compete with roosters on sleep-in Sundays — yep, that would be me — this bubbly, perky, zestful bunch dressed in shiny running gear chirping motivational slogans can give your senses a jolt no quadruple-shot of espresso or Red Bull can ever match.

Remember the old Batman shows and those Blam, Bamf, Ugh, Zap, Wham, Eek and Kapow thought balloons? Replace those with adult-oriented rapster words and that’s what you hear from this night owl while trying to get dressed, exercise and smile all without coffee, all before 9 a.m.

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference,” Arian Soheili, our affable Sun Run InTraining Clinic guru bleats out, proving he can recite Winston Churchill and believing this stuff removes the inner doubts, the mental stresses and the thoughts of 30 more minutes of freakin’ sleep from your brain.

The warm-up room at Walnut Grove Community Centre is filled with older people who have completed several marathons, younger people looking to improve on lightning quick 10-kilometre times, newbies with an appetite for adventure, teachers who study the science of running, and jovial trainers who aim to push our “comfort zones one step at a time.”

Most of these endearing people have “runners’ bodies.” Mine? Well, not so much, unless a lot of people who hang out at buffet tables also run in-between meals.

Oops, time for another motivational quote from one of the upbeat trainers: “We don’t need a reason. We need a road.” Then from the back of the room, almost like this cheesy stuff is rehearsed: “Even a bad run is better than no run at all.”

Ugh.

OK, quick confession before we continue: In my January diet, I lost 31 days! I’m now following the Chinese calendar and starting over. And fortunately for this clomping Clydesdale, it’s the Year of the Horse, so February will be my month for sure (wink, wink).

Two of the people who make this clinic ultra-fun and worth attending are sisters Tracy and Kellie. They are a hoot, and both put the grrrrrrr in runner.

“Well, at least my husband thinks I’m hot in these running tights,” laughs Tracy, who looks 10 years younger than her 52 years. Kellie, two years younger and the quieter one, laughs recalling how some former participants called them the “twins,” even though they look and act different and are about as twin-like as Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger were in that crazy movie way back when.

Both say they became leaders to ensure they keep running and to socialize through the grey winter months.

“We’re not elite runners, but we like to stay active and involved. There’s a volunteer aspect here of giving back, and helping people achieve their goals,” says Tracy, who has been a clinic leader for 13 years and has participated in 15 Sun Runs. Her sister became a leader 11 years ago, one year after being a clinic participant.

“Keeping it fun so people use this as a springboard to other actitivies is also important to us,” says Tracy, who does a superb job of getting complete strangers to mingle and mix as they learn to become smarter runners.

Soheili, who earlier in the day stressed the importance of purchasing proper shoes, says motivating people to run and teaching them how to avoid injuries, is key to long-term enjoyment.

“The interval training works. We can take you from zero to 10K in 13 weeks. But if you get hurt or your feet bother you, you’ll likely drop out and that’s not what we want here.”

You can tell as the leaders coffee up after another fun morning that they love this gig. They talk about trails, easy runs and workout challenges. Soheili likes to talk about the cute ladies, and points out most clinincs are 80 to 85 per cent filled with active, wonderful women.

“Hey, I’m happily married, but the scenery is always great,” laughs Soheili. “And that’s a great motivator to keep training for old guys like me!”

Then, to break that conversation from going down a trail of no return, we are interrupted by another ditty: “There is no one giant step that does it, it’s a lot of little steps.”

Ugh!

GOOD SOULS, OLD SOLES: A faith-based group in Langley that goes by the handle Friends In Action will soon be collecting old running shoes to donate to the less fortunate and those in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. It’s a superb idea and one of the FIA organizers will soon speak to our group and I’ll pass on more information about this in future posts.

REJECTED TRAINING SLOGAN: I enjoy long romantic walks … to the fridge!

MY TUESDAY TWEET: Passed 7 fast runners this morning … sure, they were going the other way but we were all wearing the same smiles! Love it!

FINISHING LINES: We were promised a visit from a shoe company in the next week or two and all the women’s eyes in the room lit up, while guys twitched and reached for their wallets. This is a learned behaviour that I think jogging is supposed to become.

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